Cinema

Gadfly 251 By Robert Macklin The conviction of Chris Dawson for the murder of his wife Lynette - in the absence of a body or any witnesses to the killing - has raised some fascinating issues surrounding our legal system. As we all know by now, Lynette disappeared forty years ago; the initial response of the police was inadequate, and the accused would never have been brought to trial but for the immense popularity of the podcast, ‘The Teacher’s Pet’ that focused on the case. It was the podcast that triggered Dawson’s lawyers to have the case heard before a single judge rather than a jury of his peers. Justice Ian Harrison delivered the summary of his judgement in open court over a marathon five hours, while the full judgement ran to 100,000 words. Dawson’s counsel said later an appeal was ‘probable’. The choice of the single judge over the jury is but one of the contentious issues arising. Indeed, it sparked a column from the former editor of The Canberra Times, Crispin Hull – himself a qualified lawyer – that called into question the whole ancient practice of trial by jury. ‘If you were designing a system from scratch,’ he wrote, ‘there is no way any sensible legislature would come up with a random selection of decision makers with little or no verification of whether they have the capacity to deal with complex issues.’ It was fair criticism. The whole British legal system gains its widespread acceptance in large part because of its ancient dictums and the aggrandisement of its practitioners in much the same way as religion exerts its hold on the populace. A brand new Australian approach is one of those ‘must do’ tasks we should put in our post-republic diary. But the decision to decline a jury trial might actually work against Dawson. In the Cardinal Pell case, for example, the High Court had no access to the jury’s deliberations, so the Justices could substitute their own judgement of ‘reasonable doubt’ based on their interpretation of the trial transcript. A higher court might well be more likely to reverse a jury’s decision than that of a highly respected Justice of the Supreme Court who supported his reasoning so meticulously. However, the larger question of jury or judge is more complex than Crispin Hull suggests. We are all subject to the vagaries of personal experience that would make it more or less likely to find a defendant guilty. Indeed, we need only glance at our friends across the Pacific for the perfect example of willful prejudice in the US Supreme Court. Then there’s the issue of the 40 years that passed between the disappearance of Lynette and the trial. The natural assumption is that the passage of time would make it less likely that Dawson would be found guilty since the evidence from witnesses – even their remaining alive after such an interval – would be less reliable than if delivered much closer to the event. Social perceptions have changed over the period, particularly recently with the rise of the ‘Me Too’ movement and the new awareness of widespread domestic violence. I suspect it is much more likely that the defendant would have been found Not Guilty in the 1980s than today, whether by jury or judge. ‘Justice delayed is justice denied’ is a legal maxim that has its roots back in the Magna Carta of 1215. This case, it would seem, is the exception that proves the rule…if indeed, there are any unimpeachable rules in our very human system of justice. Australia’s First Nations, the victims of a British crime against humanity, provide a glaring case in point. robert@robertmacklin.com

Seated, he kept both schooners before him. Bazza raised an eyebrow. “Now, Bazza, I suggest we have a drink to Queen Elizabeth II. If you have a problem, or you make any smart arse comments, I will leave and rejoin Mrs Weatherspoon-Jones’ memorial recep on. She has a private table booked out in the lounge bar……. for selected guests.” Mick s ffened his back and touched his black arm band. They eyed each other for a short moment. Bazza licked his lips. “Well, Mick I am more than aware of your allegiance to the Royal Family. I might be a republican……. but I am not going to go thirsty.” Mick relaxed his shoulders, slid the schooner across and they both took long sips. “In fact, Mick, I won’t even tell the story of the me I was in the Solomon Islands and Queen Elizabeth II was introduced to the crowd as Queen Elizabeth the Eleventh and then……”

Mick’s face ghtened. “I’ve warned you, Bazza…..show some respect.” “Ok….. relax, Mick…….relax. But I do have this mate who was a newly elected Member of Parliament who went to London with a delega on. Part of the i nerary was a mee ng with the Queen at Buckingham Palace along with like representa ons from various parts of the Commonwealth. As you could imagine, many were invited, but he was s ll pre y excited to meet Her Majesty.” Mick leaned in.

“So far so good, Bazza. You are behaving yourself.” Bazza took a sip. “Anyhow Mick, on the morning of the mee ng he gets a call from a high ranking Minister in his own Government. Due to illness, he requests my mate to stand in for him, at a one on one mee ng with Her Majesty, as he did not want to jeopardise her health. Well……he duly crams all the relevant informa on provided in the briefing notes and spends a pleasant half hour with the Queen. She is by all accounts exactly as she is portrayed; knowledgeable, engaging and genuinely interested.” “Well…..I’m going to drink to that, Bazza. You have confirmed my view.” “Ahhhh……but there is more, Mick.” Mick groaned. “Don’t Bazza…..please don’t spoil it.” Con nues…….

Reading—A beer with Baz “Hold on, Mick…..you see…. he s ll had to a end the mee ng with the Queen that a ernoon, as per his original schedule, with all the delegates from the Commonwealth.” “Two mee ngs with the Queen in one day is pre y impressive, Bazza.”

“That’s what I thought, Mick. Well……he lines up with the rest of them and is standing next to some mul tled and very English Lord. This Lord makes a quick assessment of our Parliamentarian from the Colony and offers him some very detailed instruc ons on expected behaviour when mee ng Her Majesty. He even gets him to prac se a slight bow of the head for good measure.” “Protocol is important, Bazza…...but I don’t like where this story is going.” “All good, Mick….. I promised to be respec ul.” “So…… the Queen comes along and spends a li le me with each of the delegates and finally approaches the mul tled Lord. Of course, he bows and respec ully informs Her Majesty that it is their second mee ng and recounts the details. She, of course, feigns recollec on and politely moves on. The mul tled Lord steps back, quite chuffed.” Bazza paused for a sip. “Next up, she greets our humble Parliamentarian from the Colony with a beaming smile. She uses his first name repeatedly and effuses, “It is such a pleasure to see you again” and engages in extended conversa on, un l her aide reminds her to move on, in accordance with the schedule.” “Well……God save the Queen, Bazza.” Have a beer with Bazza at john.longhurst59@gmail.com

The Beagle Editor, Beagle readers might be interested in the following le er sent to Eurobodalla Councillors, Dear Mayor and Councillors Proposed Sale of old Batemans Bay Bowling Club Land I note that Council has adver sed the proposed sale of this land for Expressions of Interest based on a range of suggested uses. One of the suggested uses is for residen al accommoda on. This is my favoured op on for the following reasons: - The subject land is owned by the ratepayers and in the first instance its end use should be subject to comprehensive community consulta on. - There is huge concern about the lack of affordable housing in Eurobodalla Shire. - The subject land should be retained in Council ownership and then used for housing. Land is a significant cost when building a house. - As owner of the land, there is an opportunity for Council to be innova ve and implement well designed low cost housing which is close to green space, ameni es and local shops. - Council can also showcase adapta ons to mi gate the effects of climate change. - Such an approach provides an opportunity for Council to lobby the NSW Government to introduce the recently dumped Dra Design and Place State Environmental Planning Policy. I am not a planning expert but I believe that use of this site for affordable housing could provide a much needed resource for the Shire as a whole and one which gives back to the community. Again I think it is important that Shire residents be given an opportunity to provide feedback on the eventual use of the site and that its views are taken seriously. Yours sincerely Lynn Bain The Narooma VIEW Club

General Mee ng: 4th Friday of the month Loca on: Narooma Golf Club

Time:11am for 11:30am

Contact: Carlien 0411408269

Reading Launching boats and a book — with fun and flair

On Sunday 18 September Nature Coast Dragon Boat Club will hold demonstra on boat races and launch a novel wri en by paddler member Kaaren Sutcliffe. Come and join the fun from 10 a.m. at the Moruya boat ramp on Shore Street. Side-tracked by a career in the Australian Public Service, where she wrote long analy cal reports, Kaaren didn’t write crea vely un l 1995, when she accidentally completed a novel while on maternity leave. Her works received a en on from small independent publishers, and between 1998 and 2006 five novels and three children’s stories were published. The third book in her second fantasy series was runner-up in the fic on category of the ACT Publishing Awards in 2006. She also self-published a non-fic on book, which sold two print runs. In 2005 Kaaren was diagnosed with breast cancer, and in 2006 her publisher closed down. Talk about ming! In a change of lifestyle, Kaaren hung up her crea ve keyboard and le the public service to become a freelance editor. She became an Accredited Editor with the Ins tute of Professional Editors (IPEd) in 2012. In 2021 Kaaren discovered her breast cancer had returned in her spine … However, every cloud has a silver lining and Kaaren used the extra me in her recovery from major surgery to return to her passion of wri ng — and The Mage and the Bird Caller trilogy came to life. The celebra ons are to help welcome Kaaren back to paddling a er major surgery and treatment, and to launch the novel that she completed while recovering. Undercover Mage is book one in a fantasy with romance trilogy, inspired by the Chinese mythology underpinning dragon boat racing. The story features a river, a grumpy river dragon, a spy mage on an undercover mission and a feisty heroine who is the captain of a boat team. Guest paddlers are coming from other south coast clubs and there will be fun demonstra on races from 10 a.m., followed by morning tea, the launch of the book, and then the opportunity to see the boats up close or even try a brief paddle. A endance is free and a coffee van and taco van will also be on site. Books will be available, with some of the proceeds from book sales going to Dragons Abreast Australia and The McGrath Founda on.

For more informa on about Nature Coast Dragon Boat Club visit: h ps://sites.google.com/site/ naturecoastdragonboatclub/Home For informa on about the author and the books visit: www.kaarensutcliffe.com.au

Reading Shire’s budding writers celebrate their magic

The shire’s budding writers beamed as they walked up on stage to be recognised for their literary talent.

Mayor’s Wri ng Compe on finalists a ended the awards presenta on at the Moruya RSL Hall on Monday 12 September. Judges were impressed by writers’ crea vity with the theme, magic. Eurobodalla Mayor Mathew Hatcher presented winners and runners up with vouchers from Moruya Books as well as the 2022 Mayor’s Wri ng Compe on anthology, which is also available to view in the Eurobodalla Libraries online catalogue. “It’s wonderful to recognise the literary talent in our shire,” Mayor Hatcher said. “This compe on was set up to encourage and celebrate young writers and being accepted as a finalist is a great achievement.” The pres gious Syd Hayes Crea ve Wri ng Award went to Batemans Bay student Bella Morris, 14. Bella’s story, The Tale of a Traitor, caught the judges’ a en on. She captured the theme of magic through a fantasy tale of rela onships and death. “Some would say I have a depressing tone to my wri ng - I am not about those fairy-tale endings,” Bella laughed. Instead, Bella enjoys crea ng impac ul endings that leave las ng impressions. “I will watch a movie or finish reading a book and feel disappointed; I can’t help but think how I can make the ending be er,” she said. Bella was most pleased by the award and looked forward to spending her voucher on a leather-bound classic.

“I barely win anything, it was such a surprise when I found out I won,” Bella said. Bella has a list of upcoming wri ng compe ons she is already working towards. Her heart was set towards one day achieving a degree in English literature, with her ul mate dream to study at Oxford University. Over the past 13 years, the Mayor’s Wri ng Compe on has seen more than 2650 entries. 2022 judges were Eurobodalla Writers Stafford Ray, Eileen Dillon-Smith and Sharon Halliday as well as former

Batemans Bay High School principal with Bella Morris

Kasarni Smal

judge of the Children’s Book of the Year Award, Lynne Babbage and Alice Johnson of Eurobodalla Libraries.

Awards Years 1-2 Winner: Emilia Klekowska Runner up: Xavier Eke Encouragement: James Penberthy Special men on: Taylor Bartulovich, Tommy Dullard and Ginger Rixon. Years 3-4 Winner: Zara McCarthy Runner up: Molly Brewer Encouragement: Layla Bailey Special men on: Jordan Hatcher, Elizabeth Hicks, Chloe Kay, Hayden Paull and Nyree Redden. Years 5-6 Winner: Maizi Minihan Runner up: Mahli Killeen Encouragement: Max Kay Special men on: Evie Bailey, Ma lda Clynes, Orlando, Dali Hone and Archie Jackson. Years 7-8 Winner: Ruby Southan Runner up: Ilah Constable Years 9-10 Winner: Bella Morris Runner up: Emma Penberthy Years 11-12 Winner: Kasarni Small

Years 1-2 finalists Emma Penberthy and Bella Morris with Mayor Hatcher.